Champion Aboriginal footballer Rod Jensen, former North Queensland Cowboys utility and a qualified teacher, began working at Djarragun's Gordonvale campus after a year playing for the Huddersfield Giants in the British Super League competition.

A crucial part of Jensen's role was to run the Sporting Chance program - a $360,000-a-year federal government initiative to use sport to improve indigenous students' attendance, attitude and academic results.

When Jensen arrived at the school he was dismayed to find the program - for which the school had received funding for at least three years - was virtually non-existent.

His academy was getting full taxpayer funding to cater for 175 students, but fewer than half were turning up.

Rod Jensen quit as the manager of Djarragun's Sports Academy, frustrated at what he saw as a lack of accountability for government funding and a shocking lack of academic achievement.

Jensen says he was not tough enough to put up with employment conditions at Djarragun College.

"There was no way the school would have let me suggest that because we had fewer kids we should get less funding," he said.

Jensen said the program was not delivering, or even aiming to deliver, academic results.

Djarragun principal and chief executive Jean Illingworth yesterday denied that sport funding was misused and said she was unaware that fewer than half the students enrolled in the sports academy attended training or lessons.

"Rod did not come to me with this information, and the problem as I saw it was that Rod was not a good manager," she said.

Between November 2010 and March 2011 : Mathew Curtis and Louise Redmond wrote to the members of Djarragun College board.

Mathew Curtis wrote to the Djarragun College board, alleging that the recorded enrolment at the Gordonvale campus was exaggerated.

Mr Curtis wrote that, in the month before he left, the senior school under his management was accused by Ms Illingworth of "losing" more than 120 students and consequent government funding.

His letter to the board said that after investigating the "so-called lost students" he discovered that just over one-third of that group had "never turned up or have been left on the rolls and are therefore not lost to the school, as they have never been there in the first place".

His letter warned that "should these facts be made public and found to be correct, the school may well be accountable for misappropriation of government funding on a significant scale".

Separately, former chief operating officer Louise Redmond wrote to members of the school board and to the Anglican bishop for North Queensland, Bill Ray, expressing concern about practices at the college.

Djarragun College is controlled jointly by the Anglican Church and receives more than $10 million annually in state and federal funding.

Almost all the students come from remote Aboriginal and Islander communities.

According to the My School website, the federal government funded Djarragun at the rate of $11,568 a student in 2009, while the Queensland government kicked in $4130 a student.

An extra $8000 is paid by the federal government if the student is a full-time boarder.

Mr Curtis told The Australian the recorded enrolment at the college's Gordonvale campus was exaggerated by at least 70 students.

During the first week of April 2011 : Whistleblower Mathew Curtis was interviewed by federal education department officials.

Whistleblower Mathew Curtis, former head of senior school at Djarragun,was interviewed for two and a half hours by two federal education department officials during the first week of April 2011.

Mr Curtis said that he provided the investigators with a dossier of information, including class rolls for the 2010 senior school, confirmation of student results by the Queensland Studies Authority, class lists, timetables and staffing allocations.

July 2011 : Jean Illingworth allegedly listed those who needed to be "sacked and replaced" at Djarragun.

Jean Illingworth allegedly sent an email to businessman Mr John Benson and Mr Noel Pearson in July 2011, which included an "action plan" with a list of those who needed to be "sacked and replaced" at Djarragun College.

Cairns solicitor Jim Brooksconcluded that principal Jean Illingworth had led a school that operated on a "hierarchy of favouritism" of staff, employed unregistered teachers and sacked employees unfairly.

His report lists at least 10 examples of employees' family being given jobs at the school, including Ms Illingworth's daughter.

"Such a circumstance can only be the result of insular, if not nepotistic, rather than merit-based selection processes," Mr Brooks writes.

The report is based on 35 interviews with 24 current and former Djarragun staff, including three interviews with Ms Illingworth, who has denied any wrongdoing.

Ms Illingworth argued the report was "fundamentally flawed, is biased and failed to ensure a process of natural justice".

Ms Illingworth said the complaints had arisen from "disgruntled former staff whose employment was terminated because of poor performance" and a campaign by former chief operating officer Louise Redmond to discredit her.

But Jim Brooks said that many of the concerns raised by Louise Redmond were legitimate and not all complaints arose from "malcontents".

2013 : Vimal Shankarn is allegedly asked to sign a letter in support of Jean Illingworth.

Vimal Shankaran told Cairns Magistrates Court his friend Ludo Kuipers asked him to sign a letter in support of Jean Illingworth in 2013.

The letter, which appeared to be written by Mr Shankaran, said he wanted to admit that he told police only "half the truth" and that he overheard Illingworth tell a staffer not to make up student attendance roles.

28 August 2013 : Queensland Police provided Jean Illingworth's defence team with a brief of evidence.

On 28 August 2013 the Queensland Police provided Ms Illingworth's defence team with a brief of evidence containing specific details of the allegations involving two charges of attempting to pervert justice and one breach of bail count.

22 November 2013 : the prosecutor alleges that teenagers who were in prison, employed, expelled or who never attended classes were all enrolled at Djarragun.

On Friday 22 November 2013, Jean Illingworth faced Cairns Magistrates Court for the first day of a four-day committal hearing into an alleged $9 million fraud.

Ms Illingworth, 66-year-old, denies any wrong-doing.

She faces two charges each of fraud and perverting the course of justice.

In outlining the case against Ms Illingworth, prosecutor Michael Cowan alleged she enrolled a number of children who never attended classes.

He said this included teenagers who were in prison or employed and others who were either too young or too old.

Teenagers who had been expelled and "chronic truants" were also kept on the roster, he said.

The school received $20,000 in state and federal funding for each student.

Mr Cowan said there was an enrolment drive across Cape York where children were enrolled but didn't show up at the school.

Mr Cowan said the school was running at an unsustainable level and funds were used to keep it going.

Mr Cowan said it was also alleged Ms Illingworth created more false attendance rolls at home after she was stood down, (and she then) delivered (the false attendancerolls) to Cape York Partnerships accountants, who had taken over the school.

Mr Cowan said one of the charges related to a statement in a letter "allegedly" drafted by former staff member Vimal Shankaran and addressed to businessman John Benson.

Ms Illingworth was accused of having a man fly to Thursday Island with the letter to see Mr Shankaran in a bid to persuade him to sign a new statement.

Ms Illingworth's lawyer Tony Kimmins questioned lead investigator Detective Sergeant Sheridan Heaton over interviews she conducted with a key witness, a former teacher at the school.

Det Heaton says she didn't take notes during the interviews which weren't recorded, as was normal practice.

Chartered accountant Paul Campey, who had done non-financial audits on Djarragun school, also gave evidence yesterday.

During cross-examination, Mr Campey agreed it was possible a student could have attended the school for "half a year" but may have failed to be included on the census audit because of the time of year the audits were completed.

Djarragun College teacher Francesca Shankaran told Cairns Magistrates Court her former husband, Vimal Shankaran, had brought home what she understood to be school attendance rolls soon after Jean Illingworth was stood down.

Businessman John Benson told Cairns Magistrates Court he was a friend of Jean Illingworth.

Mr Benson told the court he had been a "strong supporter and sponsor of efforts" at Djarragun College and said he had supported Cape York Partnerships executive chairman Noel Pearson via programs assisting indigenous housing and job creation.

Jean Illingworth was charged with breaching her bail conditions after she allegedly spoke to a witness, a former staffer, during a break in committal proceedings at Cairns Magistrates Court on Wednesday 18 December 2013.

The new charge will be dealt with later on Thursday 19 December 2013.

Ms Illingworth already faces two charges each of breaching bail and attempting to pervert the course of justice, as well as the more serious charges of fraud and obtaining financial advantage by deception.

Another Djarragun staff member, Peggy Chigeza, was questioned about an email she had handed to police which Ms Illingworth allegedly sent in March 2011.

The court heard that Ms Illingworth wrote in the email that she had been advised by Noel Pearson's public relations officer to find students who would post on social media supporting the school after a critical newspaper story.

Principal made us do it, Grace Uhr, P.19, The Courier-Mail, 19 December 2013

Thursday 19 December 2013 : made-up statements for others were allegedly found on Jean Illingworth's computer.

Prosecutor Michael Cowan argued there was enough evidence to prove Ms Illingworth attempted to pervert the course of justice by writing a letter and asking a witness to sign it.

The letter claimed the witness had given false details to police and that a lead detective in the case had tried to bully him during interviews.

Ms Illingworth tried to undermine witnesses by writing the letter and other documents found on her computer showed a proliferation of made-up statements for others, Mr Cowan claimed.

Defence lawyer Tony Kimmins says the letter "might as well be used as toilet paper" as it wasn't signed by the witness.

There was no evidence of intimidating threats to make the witness sign the letter and Ms Illingworth wasn't present when the letter was handed to the witness by a mutual friend, Mr Kimmins said.

And the witness had been told he could change the letter if he wished.

Former Djarragun College principal Jean Illingworth faces fresh charges, 19 December 2013, AAP, The Brisbane Times

Thursday 19 December : the prosecutor argues that Jean Illingworth should not be released on bail.

During a bail application on the afternoon of Thursday 19 December 2013, prosecutor Michael Cowan argued Ms Illingworth should not be released because she would likely contact witnesses - which she has already admitted doing three times this year.

He described the 66-year-old as an "extreme manipulator" who had undermined the prosecution's case since the beginning.

"She's been the queen bee (at the college) and she's not able to let it go," Mr Cowan said.

"She will continue to contact witnesses - she can't help herself. It's almost offensive."

Mr Cowan says Jean Illingworth manipulated and tried to influence a number of staff members after being stood down, although the school had said she couldn't contact her colleagues.

"It was a concerted campaign to undermine people who turned out to be prosecution witnesses," he said.

Mr Cowan said Illingworth drafted emails on behalf of staff members and suggested they put their names to them.

In one email, read to the court, Ms Illingworth deliberately included spelling mistakes which Mr Cowan says was to give it authenticity as it was supposedly written by an Aboriginal man.

Ms Illingworth believed she could act in a certain way because she had the backing of some influential people, he says.

Defence lawyer Tony Kimmins argued his client should be released on bail and says claims by Mr Cowan relate to alleged incidents that took place before Ms Illingworth was charged in January.

He also says there was a culture of "cat-fighting" and "back-stabbing" at the college.

Mr Kimmins says Illingworth's family were prepared to put down a $100,000 bond.

He suggested attaching bail conditions including that she mustn't use the internet or send emails.